White Helmet rescue workers still trapped in Syria

Around 800 White Helmet rescue workers and their families have been evacuated from Syria by Israel "due to an immediate threat to their lives".

Hundreds of them were stuck in a pocket of southern Syria, fearing advancing Syrian government forces.

Through videos, pictures, and social media, the White Helmets are widely seen as having played an important role in showing the global community the horrors of the Syrian civil war. "I therefore authorised their transfer via Israel to other countries as an important humanitarian gesture", Netanyahu said.

Israeli media identified the Syrians as belonging to the White Helmets organisation.

Canada has been among several countries that have provided moral and financial support to the White Helmets, which are officially known as Syria Civil Defence, including $7.5 million over the past two years to help recruit and train women.

Syrian forces launched their southern offensive on June 19, targeting the province of Daraa on the border with Jordan, before turning their attention to neighbouring Quneitra.

The evacuated White Helmets had been working in an area controlled by the Syrian opposition in the south-west of the country and had been trapped by a government offensive.

"We are in a bus with around sixty people young men and families and about to leave and become uprooted from our homes", said Maher Ali, 38, an activist who decided with his family to leave than risk retribution for his long record of peaceful opposition to President Bashar al Assad's authoritarian rule.

More than 20,000 civilians have fled bombardment on the IS-held corner on the border with Jordan and the Israeli-occupied Golan in the past 24 hours, fleeing into regime-held areas, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor.

An Israeli government source confirmed Israel's military had rescued 800 people who were taken to Jordan.

The Israeli military in coordination with its US and European allies evacuated hundreds of Syrian rescue workers known as the White Helmets from near its volatile frontier with Syria, in a complex and first-of-a-kind operation.

The White Helmet volunteers and their families will be held in a "restricted area" of Jordan and assessed by the United Nations, pending resettlement.

In a statement Monday, a foreign ministry official called the evacuation a "smuggling operation" that also reveals Israel's involvement in the Syrian war despite its claims to the contrary.

Many of these displaced persons are opponents of the Assad-regime and they are "extremely nervous" according to a Syrian humanitarian aid worker in Quneitra. It marked the first such Israeli intervention in Syria's civil war, now in its eighth year.

The IDF published a statement on Twitter and said: "Following the reports of sirens sounding in northern Israel, it was concluded that the rockets were from internal fighting in Syria, where they later fell".

Comments

Latest Posts

OCU professor: In trade dispute, U.S. is on solid ground
But the larger question is why are the national governments in the era of globalization resorting to protectionism? The country's previous complaint came after the United States slapped levies on Chinese goods worth US$34 billion.

One dead in U.S. supermarket hostage drama
Trader Joe's also released a statement on the fatal hostage situation: "Our hearts are broken over what happened today". His grandmother had tried to help him find employment and "was just trying to make him do better", she said.

Duck boat safety could improve
Reports about the NTSB findings have resurfaced since the sinking of the "Ride the Ducks" boat in Stone County, Mo., Thursday. Martin says there is "no explanation" and that the family is suffering from survivors' guilt. "And I wasn't able to do that".

Mourinho worried by Manchester United's 'very bad' pre-season
The Brazil worldwide was tipped to head to the Premier League in January, with the Red Devils and Chelsea keen on the left-back. But he missed out on a deal with United unwilling to meet the asking price Inter Milan had slapped on the Croatia worldwide .

European Union fines Google $5 billion
A third antitrust case, which is still being investigated, involves the Google advertising placement service AdSense. When Google develops a new version of Android it publishes the source code online, the Commission said.

Kerber channels pain into glory at Wimbledon
Open, though she lost in the first round of each. "I just feel like she just did a lot of different shots today", Williams said. After all the time away, Williams spoke about being impressed with herself for just reaching the final.

The Royal Rule Meghan Markle Finds Difficult To Follow
Issues among the newlywed's family have been widely reported and it's not the first time her half-sister has attacked her online. Meghan Markle's father is "utterly furious" after Sharon Osbourne said it was "so obvious" he had a "bad drinking problem".

Amazon Prime Day Puts Pressure On Other Retailers
Prime Day also usually helps boost the number of Prime memberships. "We have been humbled by the reception Prime has had here". She noted the problems affected Amazon's conversion rate, or how many people bought an item when they came to the site.

Kim Jong-un blasts delays in North Korean economic projects
Command, and North Korea's side included a two-star general, the South Korean news agency reported, citing diplomatic sources. North Korea and the U.S. carried out joint operations to recover the remains of United States soldiers between 1996 and 2005.